I was going thru my "Big List" page recently and came across an interesting post from back in 2018, where I was asked if I'd hit 5,000 posts yet….well, I wasn't even close at that point! But, I ended up going back to places that were among the first I posted open from back in May of 2005 and did revisits. Well, I quickly checked my current post status and it was now over 5,000….go figure! And those three places from post #3951 were still open…well, one had reopened after a fire with a change of ownership, but I thought it would be fun to just do a couple of revisits and it was easy because two of the places are in my 'hood. And it just so happens that this is post #5571…so here goes.
Post #1 May 26, 2005; China Max:
Of course China Max isn't quite the same place I had enjoyed with the late, great, Ed from Yuma. There was the fire in April of 2020, which shut down China Max. The rebuilding took almost 5 years! At which time the original owners decided to retire and CM was sold to the owners of Taste of Hong Kong. I visited during the soft reopening back in March and was really disappointed as it seems China Max wanted to be DTF "light"…..the meal was a disappointment….they no longer really did Cantonese fare. But heck, it was time for me to check in, right? And thinking about doing this post gave me a reason to return.
Based on what I'd read about the AYCE dim sum and fluffed up posts on "influencer land", I expected the place to be rather busy when I arrived at opening on a Wednesday. But it was empty; I was the first customer of the day it seems.
While my previous meal had been mediocre; I found the young folks working to be really nice and kind. And on this visit it was no different; really nice folks working.
On this visit, I was not going to order any second rate XLB….I was actually going to try the $8.95 Har Gow and the $8.95 Shu Mai, no matter how much my wallet screamed for mercy.
Of course, one of the items that Ed and I enjoyed at the original iteration of China Max was the Peking Duck. The only Peking Duck item on the menu was something called "Peking Duck Tacos"…..well, going against my better judgement, I ordered that as well.
First to arrive were the Peking Duck "Tacos", which were basically duck already places in the dan bing…..
This was pretty bad. The dan bing was rubbery…speaking of rubbery, the skin of the duck was not crisp, the fat hadn't been rendered from the duck properly and it had way too much sauce. This is what happens when you can't "do your own thing" with Peking Duck.
Next to arrive were the har gow.
I quickly noticed something about these almost $3 a piece shumai…..do you see it? Well, the wrappers were really too thick, but all of them had "puka pants"….suffering from severe leakage. Decent shrimp – savory – sesame flavors, but because of the holes in the wrapper, the filling was too hard and dry.
Last up; the Shu Mai. I could tell just by looking at it, that in terms of texture it wasn't going to be my cup of tea.
First off, look how these lack uniformity, second, how haphazardly the wrappers are placed. Third, the filling was hard and dry. It was also overly salty. The shape was like someone rolled a meatball and just threw wrappers over it.
To say I was disappointed is an understatement. I was hoping that my visit in March was just a fluke….but, after spending almost $30 (w/o tip) on this…..well, I think I'm done with China Max. Quite sad, because CM was the subject of my first post on this blog over 20 years ago.
China Max
4698 Convoy Street #C101
San Diego, CA 92111
Post #3 May 28, 2005 Sandwich Emporium:
Yes, Sandwich Emporium was my third post way back when. Even though it's just a few blocks from home, I haven't been visiting as much as I used to. As indicated in my last post on SE last year, it seems like things have changed in terms of how SE constructed their sandwiches. Well, I needed to take my car for a wash after a recent road trip and decided to head on over to SE.
I walked on in and placed my order.
And placed an order for my "usual"; the Spicy Julio ($13.50)….I know after my last visit I said it was time to start ordering something different, but old habits die hard……
Anyway, here's my sandwich.
It was, unfortunately, a mayo heavy mess, with less pickled jalapenos than it used to have. Kind of a soggy mess, with just a smear of avocado and for some strange reason, the tomatoes were MIA.
As a point of reference; here's what it used to look like when I did post #3951.
You know, I haven't seen the Twins who own the place since before Covid. At one point in time, SE had expanded to locations in Rancho Penasquitos, Escondido, and Mira Mesa. All of which have closed. I'm wondering if they've lost interest in the place or what as there seems to be a lack of QC here. Kind of a bummer.
Sandwich Emporium
3054 1/2 Clairemont Drive
San Diego, CA
And finally……
Post #5 May 30, 2005 Bay Park Fish Company:
The reason I actually started this post was the sign on Bay Park Fish.
Yes, just like our little blog, Bay Park Fish is celebrating 20 years!
Anyway, since they have a nice little patio, I decided to take JJ for a light lunch.
As I've mentioned in previous posts, the only thing I order from BPF is the Smoked Fish Stack, which is now $16. Now, the last time I visited BPF was during Covid, so I didn't know what to expect.
To my immense satisfaction, the smoked fish was quite good. And I wasn't able to finish it.
This seemed a bit larger than I recalled. Smoky-savory-oceany flavors without being too fishy. I took the remainder home for the Missus to sample. She was a bit hesitant to try it, but once She sampled it….well, it was gone in the blink of an eye. I wish there was something else on the menu we enjoy as we'd visit more often……well, perhaps we'll be back soon with JJ to try and find another menu item we enjoy.
Bay Park Fish Company
4121 Ashton St
San Diego, CA 92110
Well, at least one of the three "oldies" delivered…..
And now I'm wondering….for folks who have been long time residents of San Diego……if you've recently visited an "old time" favorite, how was it?
Hope everyone has a great week!
While the potatoes had a generous amount of bell peppers and onions, it was bit on the greasy side. No complaints about the bacon as She also ended up poaching some of mine.
Of course, the first thing I went for were the noodles; which somewhat reminded me of kway chap at first glance. Sadly, the noodles were cut into short pieces and were mushy in texture.
Where "Leo" seems to excel is with the proteins. While the rare steak was not as bright red as I prefer, it was quite tender; a definite outlier these days. The tendon, while crosscut slices were used was quite tender as well. The tripe was crunchy, and the flank, toothsome as is the norm had a pleasant beefiness to it. The beefiness extended to the brisket as well, though it was on the tougher side.
The nuoc mam was overly sweet for my taste, but the accompanying broth, which I assume is the pho broth, was much better than what I'd had during my previous visit. Yes, it was lighter…but it wasn't as sweet, with nice savory tones….I'm thinking that this was more like Pho Ga…chicken rather than beef. Doesn't it look like Pho Ga? Frankly, I should have asked.
The nice young man also kindly provided a portion of chili sauce for me as well.
The bread was much better than I recalled, crusty, though still a bit under toasted and on the chewy side. It used to be a lot worse before. 
It came with some chili oil and the appropriate (for the region) black vinegar.
As was the filling. Really chewy and tough. 
There was a good amount of decently cooked rice. I could have done without the "wasabi aioli" and the overly sweet unagi sauce. I guess I just wanted some good shoyu poke? The fish danced close to the edge of being over-sauced, but avoided falling off that cliff. I did enjoy the creaminess of the avocado and the mild sour-spice of the cucumber.
